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My name. Your space.

Well, it’s been a long time coming, but we’re up and running now.I hope you enjoy the new look and feel of www.queenrania.jo.

It might have my name on it, but this is your space too. It’s a place where you can contact me directly…give me feedback… post photos… blog back…debate ideas…be part of a global campaign…suggest things for me to do and see…learn more about education…exchange information…and take action on issues we both care about it.

I just want to express my truthful feelings of high esteem and appretiation to Your person and the great great job You've been doing so far, promoting worldwide a better knowledge about Jordan and its people. I've got a chance to see You, Her Majesty, during a Business Meeting held in Milan last year. I've been touched by Your beauty and devotion to social and humanitarian issues, without mentioning the great deal of effort to devolop business relationships between Westnern countries (Italy as one of the main partners) and Yours.

A while ago I posted an entry "enough water to fill all the swimming pools of Amman" - and wondered if we could meet that schedule. The global economic crisis has crushed investment in infrastructure; even the Saudi Govt. is not privatizing water and waste mgmt. which is a huge indicator of a trend that is unfolding...not a good trend at all. Then I heard the King of Saudi Arabia has put a stop to all further hydrocarbon exploration to protect his resources - smart King and I applaud his decision, though my nation - the U.S. - is likely to feel pain from it. To my thinking, anything that slows or eliminates "burning" fossil fuels is a wise move for the planet and in the case of the future of the Saudi people - probably wise for them as well.

Then something happened Friday - and if all goes as planned - and assuming the govt. approves it - this schedule will proceed as planned. Get out yer darn rubber duckies - this is gonna be one heckuva pool party.

John, a young student at Princeton was jogging on a warm spring day with his friend Ahmad while discussing the history of a mutual fund they were researching for a microeconomics class. As they became weary they decided to stop and rest so they sat down in the grass near the edge of the road. Out of nowhere, Ahmad, who is a citizen of an advanced middle eastern nation said, "I am sad today."

John asked, "Why are you sad?"

Ahmad replied, "Because the Queen does not follow me on Twitter."

John began chuckling as he tried to muffle his laughter. Then he began laughing so hard he could barely remain in an upright sitting position. "Because of what?" he asked rhetorically.

"Because the Queen does not follow me on Twitter."

John shook his head still laughing in disbelief, "You actually expect the queen to follow you on Twitter. How is she even suppose to know who you are?"

"Well I just thought it would be nice," replied Ahmad. "I know she is too busy to even acknowledge my existence but I just thought it would be nice to be able to share my thoughts directly with her."

"Dream on prince," said John as they stood up to make their journey back to the campus. "Maybe somewhere out there you will find that there really is a princess waiting to find you. Maybe someday you will find each other. But don't be mad at her for not following you on Tiwtter." John chuckled and shook his head as they walked up the road.

That night before turning out his light and going to bed, Ahmad decided to take a quick glance at his Twitter Home page. He immediately noticed that he had a new follower. He clicked on the profile for a better look at who had decided to listen to his concerns. To his amazement he noticed that the follower was his queen. He scratched his head, smiled then crawled into bed and went to sleep feeling a little safer than he did the night before. :)

I read a document from the King's web site - covering "NATIONAL OBJECTIVES". Like many "Political Agendas", not all is possible - they say it is better to aim high and obtain SOME of what you wish to attain, than aim low and miss opportunities that arise.

I do not know what "PERCENTAGE" of the objectives have been attained. Like many agendas of 99% of the countries out there - the global economic crash has taken the "legs" off of many plans everywhere. I have read that Jordan is looking at a small wind farm, nuclear plant, development at Al Aqaba (some of which may have stalled), the "Red/Med/Dead Sea" debates, oil exploration and naturally - the Queen's agenda.

QUESTION 1: Is the doc going to be updated? No annual release since B.C. (Before Crash aka global economic collapse)

QUESTION 2: What remedial plans are in the works for protecting the Sea of Galilee - based on geologist studies I've reviewed, my understanding is (ahem) the Israeli lack of conservation there (it happens - people suck lakes dry all the time) has threatened to allow salt water to seep in - and if this trend continues, that fresh water source will become corrupt very quickly - and its irreversible. That disaster would cause wide spread regional strife to everyone who relies on that blessing.

Here is what I might suggest...in exchange for a pipeline either up from the Red Sea (best route - 100% in Jordan) or across Israel from the Med (shorter, but ... ) instead of attempting to replenish the Dead Sea - while I know its a big issue to many - you best turn your attention one and all - Lebanon as well - to the Sea of Galilee - a real blessing. Losing that jewel would be tragic.

Smartest thing Jordan could do - pump the sea water from Red Sea - to a series of very inexpensive systems of desalination along the route (neither reverse osmosis, distillation, oil or power are required at all for this type of system), and as the water reaches Amman - allocate a portion of the flow to the Sea of Galilee - thereby giving Israel and the region some water relief.

Naturally if there are payments for the water - all the better - and if not - the water can be utilized for crop production in Jordan - not that Jordan needs to worry about food production with all that beautiful available sunshine - plenty for crop development.

500 miles of pipe producing 2000 tons of water per hour, would cost about $1.5M per mile - or $750M total - and in that region would be worth its weight in gold - paying for itself in 3 - 7 years max, with a substantial profit thereafter. I might suggest Jordan partners with the Saudi, Egyptian, Lebanese or even a Palestinian group with funding (i.e. Intl. Agency that wants Palestine to have earnings), to raise the capital.

A pipeline of water benefiting the Sea of Galilee - even if owned in part by the Palestinians - is not a likely Israeli tank target - in fact may be one of the safest investments they could make (and quite profitable) ...agreed?

Again - if the Israeli's didn't want to buy the water for a reasonable price, the King's biggest problem would be to figure out where to use it in Jordan - a good problem indeed.

Dear Queen Rania
I heard that you love art and we are a small company based in Italy near Venice producing art furniture all handmade and handpainted here with the 700 century style . I do not know if you can visit our website www.porteitaliainteriors.com but if you can I am just asking you to send your comments . If there is anything interesting for you I can fly to your country and show you personally all our capacity production. Maybe this is a dream but here we say at least I did tryed

I've been reading a thick book - about the history of the Middle East - starting with a chapter on the collapse of Aden and Yemen to anarchy, and subsequent chapters (I am only a little way in) on the Saud family's quest to expand borders eastward under Qatar into Oman, their attempt secure an oasis and other "techniques" to secure oil that led to much mistrust among all the tribes and leaders of the region. A friend of mine born in Cairo explained the tribes had been fighting and stealing from each other for so long, he suggests it has carried forward to distrust of outsiders - and you can't blame them much considering the way Western Colonialism ran rampant around the world.

So many jealousies humans bring to the table for that which our neighbors have and we do not. One of my favorite photos - very touching - shows a Yemen farmer staring at a wasteland of drought - and it reminds me of the opportunity the oil and gas rich nations have to develop sustainable infrastructure before the opportunity is gone. I am in contact with a man in Jordan who wants similar facilities built - energy, power, water, food - Jordan has many resources besides "oil" (which I understand is now under exploration there), and I hope she does not make the mistakes of the Saudi family - being too late to develop the sustainable infrastructure before such resources are gone and the entire region turns back to 10th century standards of living.

They aren't alone: Japan faces the demographic conditions of an aging population and rising energy costs (a huge burden to their industrialized economy), and the U.S. economy, past its prime as a manufacturing giant, will need to make serious changes to avoid a standard of living similar to a Mexican peasant.

Only nations like Canada, Russia and Australia and many untapped areas of Africa - all rich with mineral resources - are likely to do well in the coming decades unless they develop a strong base of exports. I understand the Saudi govt. is pouring money into developing manufacturing facilities related to reverse osmosis membranes - a wise decision if they can afford the energy to drive their own plants and provided the rest of the world can afford sufficient quantities of their product without a new technology replacing that "current" one.

History has a funny way of derailing the best laid plans, and I also understand the Saudi's are now turning over water and waste management to private firms - a sign the govt. is unwilling to continue supporting these critical infrastructure sectors from govt. revenue. This "trend" will have a grave impact on nations who have enjoyed the benefits of the Saudi Charity - that has been at once a blessing and may be a curse if nations who are used to that level of benefit soon find it is no longer available.

Mother's can care for children for so long and if the child does not stand on their own two feet - if the baby bird is unable to learn to fly from the nest - someday - in nearly every case - they turn to obtain their food and water and mom's charity - and find they are on their own and ill equipped to support themselves. It is a strong reason for obtaining an education, of installing as much relevant technology as possible (like the membranes) and developing a family and a population that contributes to a nation's growth and a planet's needs.

I suggest Jordan learn from the Saudi mistakes - and their wise decisions - and from the effects of the Japanese demographics and U.S. declines in mfg - and dire economic straits that has led to - and as soon as possible, develop an expanding export program of key items the world will need in increasingly critical amounts: energy, fuel, food and water.

Jordan has everything she needs to be self-sufficient in all of these things, without any hand out from anyone. It is my hope - as shown in my first post here - that I hear of evidence of this progress as soon as possible. Time is running out for many nations. May Jordan learn from those that failed (and from their successes), and adjust quickly - like a graceful dancer on a red-hot tight-wire - jump - flip - and land on your feet. Most nations do not. I have some faith that Jordan - if the enlightenment at the top continues to expand - may fare better than her teachers. Life is often like that IF the students are paying attention in class.

Oh - and on the subject of attacks against Queen Rania for her stance on Extremists - she's a big girl with a brain and can recognize ignorance and the difference between enlightened people and animals. As long as she is attacked for her enlightened view, while it may make her heart weep for humanity, it adds steel to her spine and mission. Steel is made from iron through the combination of intense fire and the ashes of old objects that are gone...as is her resolve to enlighten humanity.

Ahhh - the King learned this from me and became a MASTER at it. I have been rich and I have been poor - but often dress as a beggar - horrid clothes - and go places to see how humanity is treating each other. I keep a gold and silver coin in my pocket and a few dollars to buy a sandwich or coffee and go into family owned restaurants and see how the owners treat all people - even scum balls dressed like me - and if they make me feel like family I leave a silver coin - it shocks them - and if they treat me to a free meal I leave the gold coin - which really blows their mind. Perhaps I did not teach this to the King - but it is a lesson and "research" project I have practiced for a long time.
This weekend all the families came to the coast where I live for a holiday - lots of fishing boats going out - lots of campers in the parking lots - so I put on my clothes and I was walking through the parking lot of the harbor. A huge Portuguese family from the Azores grabbed me and dragged me to the table - I call it the "Wicked Grand Ma" complex. Grand Ma says "Eat." - you do - then you try to stop - she says "No - you eat more" (evil Grand Ma) so you do - and shes says "More!!!!!" and you are afraid if you get up she will beat you with a stick - so this went on for 4 hours...evil Grand Ma - I think I weighed 25 KG more after this day.
The next day I came back - cleaned up - nice clothes - and they did not recognize me...at first...and they were laughing - dragged me back to the table - and we played the evil Grand Ma game again.
So...I understand the King's game...it is one of my most fun games also and it lifts your heart every time you find good hearts and makes you cry for humanity when you do not.
There is a rich restaurant here - owned by rich Silicon Valley Millionaires - and they have no use for beggars who arrive. So I sat outside on the patio and ordered my food and drink and even then - even when I paid and left a nice tip for the staff who served me - it was obvious the rest of the staff and the owners wanted me GONE - I was an embarrassment to them. Then one day I was somewhere else and two of their staff jumped me in a physical assault. I dropped one - the other I turned to (I could drop him also) and said "WHY would you do this? WHY would you attack a stranger who you do not even know?!?" . SO!!! The hatred for the poor and discussions and example and ethics of the establishment were so poor and wretched that the words of the owner had actually spread to - and infected - their kids who worked there who believed it was ok to jump someone.

Sometimes the rich - who believe they are wise and smart - set examples for their children and staff that are good examples - and the staff learns charity and kindness - and sometimes the rich do not deliver such a good example - and they breed hatred.

You do not have to be rich or poor to create an example for others: you just have to be human with 2 hands and a heart. Others will see how your hands and your heart behave and this can inspire them to become angelic or another problem. Be careful what lessons you teach with your hands and your heart: children are watching you.

I am not easily persuaded by acts of heroism particularly since they are often staged, and I am not easily impressed by so called "world leaders" who are out to save the world, but I have to admit that King Abdullah and Queen Rania are two of the most amazing and humbling people I have ever encountered. Queen Rania devotes much of her time and resources to eliminating poverty not only in Jordan but throughout the world and her 1Goal project seeks to provide education to every child in the world by 2015.

Moreover, she has suffered much personal abuse by extremists for her stand against honor killings but she did not relent.

I don't hear much from King Abdullah, but this week I learned something from a Jordanian friend that absolutely amazed and humbled me. It seems that in order to assure that homeless and economically disadvantaged people in Jordan are treated fairly by civil servants, King Abduallah often disguises himself as a beggar and walks the streets of Amman, the capital of Jordan to see how they are treated. In particular he visits police stations and hospitals to see how he is received if he requests services. He started this practice when he first became king and though he does not do it as much now because people have learned about it, I am told that there is a saying among some Jordanians, "Be kind to the beggar, he might be your king."

All I could say when I learned of that was "Wow, who are these angels and from what Heaven did they embark?" :)